The present invention relates to vehicle seats having side bolsters in the seat cushion and/or seat back and in particular to seats with reinforcement of the foam forming the side bolsters.
Vehicle seats, particularly single passenger bucket seats are often formed with side bolsters along the sides of the seat cushion and/or the seat back. Such side bolsters provide a snug fit which is often desired by a seat occupant. The side bolsters are formed by providing increased foam thickness in the seat cushion or seat back along the lateral side edges of the seat cushion or seat back seating surfaces.
However, merely increasing the foam thickness to provide a raised portion along the side edges does not produce the desired increase in support. The foam by itself does not hold up over time to maintain the support. One solution to provide adequate support for the foam in the bolster is to build up the seat component frame in the area of the side bolster. One way of accomplishing this is by welding a wire or tube to the seat component frame which is raised above the frame into the bolster area. The foam of the bolsters surrounds this reinforcing wire or tube and is thus held in place. Such an addition to the seat component frame, however, requires additional tooling and fixtures to properly locate and attach the wire or tube to the component frame. This increases the time and cost of the seat component
Another solution has been to form the foam pad as a composite foam having a foam block located in the bolster area which has a higher density than the remainder of the foam pad. This is accomplished in one of two ways, either forming both the low and high density foam pads separately and adhesively bonding one to the other or first forming the high density foam blocks and inserting these blocks into the mold for making the foam pad. Both these procedures add complexity and cost to the formation of the foam pad.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and low cost structure for reinforcing the seat component foam pad in the area of the side bolsters.
It is a feature of the present invention to use a rigid blow molded hollow insert that is attached to the seat component frame in the area of the side bolster and which is then covered by the foam pad. This increases the lateral support to the occupant at a relatively low added cost. The blow molded inserts may be attached to the frame by a number of methods including the use of ties wrapped around the insert and the frame, rivets, snap members, clips or the like. The blow molded inserts can be for non-handed use or can be component specific. In addition to providing improved reinforcement in the bolster area, the blow molded inserts may also result in a weight reduction as compared to a conventional wire reinforcement.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.